Garlic-Parmesan Artichokes

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We've had a fairly odd winter this year, as in almost no winter. So, forgive me if I am busting out with the spring recipes before the season officially arrives. It's going to be over 60 tomorrow, in February. So, let's cook something for spring.

This dish is a great Easter dinner side, either an appetizer course, or a starter to follow the Asparagus and Potato Salad with the Lemon-Mint Dressing and Hard-cooked Eggs. I see the main course as maybe a roast leg of lamb, and a light panna cotta, but I'll get to the dessert and main closer to spring!






Garlic-Parmesan Artichokes
2 large artichokes
1/2 lemon
1 cup white wine
4 Tbs. whole wheat bread crumbs
3 Tbs. grated Parmesan
2 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

First, trim the sharp points from the bottom two-thirds of the leaves with kitchen shears. Then, trim the stalks to be flush with bottom of artichoke. Using a chef's knife, cut off the top 1/4 leaves (see photo). Rub the cut edges with lemon.
Place the wine and extra water, if needed, in the bottom of a steamer, stove type or the steamer appliance. Squeeze the lemon into the steaming liquid. Steam the artichokes for 25 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix the remaining ingredients in a small bowl, tossing the oil with the bread crumbs and cheese until its a nice crumbly mixture. When the artichokes are done steaming, lift them out with tongs onto a cutting board.

Slice each artichoke vertically in half.


Using a paring knife, remove the rough part of choke and the center few purplish leaves (see photo). This leaves the lovely, edible heart easy to get to, and makes a nice cavity for the bread crumbs.

Sprinkle the bread crumbs, a bit in the cavity, but also in between the leaves throughout.

Place on a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Roast for 7-9 minutes until the cheese is melted and bread crumbs are browned. Serve hot.

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There have been a lot of posts on this blog over the years, many were just plain rants against the food system as I learned more about it and how broken it is. Thanks, all, for sticking with me in those Don Quixote moments tilting against the windmills of Big Ag. Those few corporations that control so much of US food system (and our political system) are veritable giants. It's easy to feel powerless, even after eight years of writing for Eat Local Challenge and being part of this food movement.

The 27th of February, however, is a Blogger Day of Action for Occupy Food. It's amazing to me to see my own concerns about the food supply grow as a movement. The goals of the movement are:

• Resist GMOs and genetic engineering
• Resist the privatization of seeds
• Resist the corporate consolidation of our food system
• Support family farmers
• Support sustainable agriculture and local food systems
• Fight the displacement of communities and forests for plantation crops like palm oil
• Demand food safety
• Get rid of Confined Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs)
• Encourage people to buy local produce, to cook, and eat meals together
• Transform our relationship to food  to know our farmer and where our food comes from
• Stand up for fair and just jobs for farm workers and food workers
• Make healthy, affordable, culturally-appropriate food accessible in low-income communities and communities of color
• End the revolving door of biotech executives in the FDA
• Support and stand in solidarity with local communities around the world who are reclaiming the food system in the name of justice and sustainability

I'm heartened. You see, I believe each of us has the power to make choices, that ultimately we consumers will make the change that needs to happen for better food. But, we still have a long way to go. And if we are going to be successful, we need to be sure that we don't leave behind the population who has limited choices. We're in this together. We can do this thing.

Expert Interview: What is a Feeding Disorder and When Should a Parent Worry?

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Have you ever wondered if your child’s picky eating is “normal?” If so, you’re not alone. The next couple posts will be a series from an interview with Dr. Ramasamy Manikam, PhD, a clinical psychologist and top expert on feeding disorders with over 20 years of practice. Dr. Manikam is the Director of the Center for Pediatric Feeding Disorders at St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children.
 
Dr. Manikam has been kind enough to answer some questions for me. The first post will cover some background on what feeding therapy is and what conditions are most often related to a feeding disorder. The posts will also cover when a parent should — and shouldn’t — be concerned about a food issue. 

The second post, for those of us who are blessed with kids who are just “picky eaters,” Dr. Manikam shares some of his perspective as a medical professional as well as a parent and grandparent on some of our “common” food concerns with our kids. 

What is a Feeding Disorder and When Should a Parent Worry?

A genuine feeding disorder can be devastating. The symptoms, causes and actual behaviors of a food disorder vary. However, one constant is that dealing with a child’s food disorder can be especially hard for parents who blame themselves for the disorder.

Some parents I’ve talked with have children with eating habits that cause both the parents and children in these situations to dread daily mealtimes. Their children may gag when eating a disliked food or have another type of adverse reaction to some foods. Situations like this feel anything but "normal." Where is the line between “picky” and when there may be an actual disorder? When should a parent seek medical help?

“The index I would use is the health, growth, and development of the child in relation to the food intake,” says Dr. Manikam. “Some children ‘pick’ during meals but then graze all day long and are healthy.  If the child is not receiving balanced nutrients with sufficient intake for proper growth and development then it becomes a disorder that requires medical evaluation and feeding therapy if warranted.”

Growth and development issues are gradual symptoms, but there may be short-term indications of a food issue as well.

“Weight loss, illness, allergy, crying during meals due to pain, etc. should be a call for medical evaluation to determine the nature of the problem,” says Dr. Manikam.

Other symptoms that can be indicators of an underlying medical problem include; difficulty with swallowing, vomiting during and after meals, choking and gagging during meals, poor appetite, and crying while holding the stomach.

“[These signs] can be indicators of an underlying medical problem that should be evaluated by trained and experienced medical professionals,” he continues.

What Causes Feeding Disorders?

The causes of a feeding disorder are most often a medical condition. Less commonly, a feeding disorder develops from inappropriate interactions with a parent. Feeding disorders affect approximately 25-40 percent of children from newborns to adolescents, a statistic that seems alarmingly high.

“These percentages are averages,” explains Dr. Malikam.  “The percentage varies depending on the definition of what a ‘feeding disorder’ is, the time of study, and the population and even the country where the study is conducted. The percentage can be as high as 80% for special needs children with developmental disabilities. I consider an individual to have a ‘feeding disorder’ when his or her health is adversely affected.”

Feeding disorders are more common for children who are born prematurely, or had a low birth weight as well. According to Dr. Manikam, other physical causes of a feeding disorder, eating aversion or failure to thrive, include:

• Celiac Disease
• Down Syndrome
• Prader-Willi Syndrome
• Heart defects
• Breathing difficulties
• Oral-facial malformations such as cleft palate
• Other Syndromes (e.g., Stickler, Cri du chat, Pierre Robin, Russell-Silver, Fetal Alcohol, Treacher-Collins, Smith-Lemli-Opitz)
• Food allergies, including milk allergy, and lactose intolerance.

Other physical causes may include gastroesophageal reflux (GERD) and Crohn’s disease. Sensory disorders, autism, and ADHD can sometimes be linked to food issues.

Only about one in ten food disorders are caused from behavior issues. These food disorders can be caused by negative interaction with a parent.

Examples Dr. Manikam provided include a parent that has low tolerance; has a poor understanding of developmental norms; or has been affected by the knowledge that other children were doing better or eating table foods earlier. Other negative interactions can include a parent who cannot read his or her child’s hunger cues, or who forces food on a child when the child is not hungry.

Parental aggression or anger during feeding times, a lack of nurturing, and parental apathy are other negative parental interactions that can lead to a feeding disorder in children.

How Are True Feeding Disorders Treated?
Treatment for a true feeding disorder can require an expert such as a feeding therapist. Dr. Manikam is a clinical psychologist, but feeding therapists may have different backgrounds. Feeding therapy, in some cases, requires a team of individuals with different specialties.

“Feeding therapists are professionals trained in the assessment and treatment of individuals with feeding problems. Generally, Speech Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, and Behavioral Psychologists provide feeding therapy services to individual with feeding problems,” says Dr. Manikam.

Feeding therapy team members may sometimes include a nutritionist, or a social worker or other medical professionals. The therapy process may focus on the patient only, or the parent, or both. This article on Dr. Manikam from the New York Times, has some specific examples of patient experiences.

“Depending on the patient’s age and developmental levels and the nature of feeding problems professionals might work with the patient and/or with the guardian. For example, therapists might work with an adolescent who develops ‘anxiety’ or ‘post-traumatic anxiety disorder’ due to a choking incident.  In the case of younger children, therapists might work with the child and train the guardians when an effective intervention is established. In some cases, the therapist might train the guardian to implement the intervention strategies.  The model of service delivery depends on the information obtained from the assessment,” says Dr. Manikam.

Many thanks to Dr. Manikam, Director of the Center for Pediatric Feeding Disorders at St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children, for his insights shared here. In the next post, he shares his experience and perspective for all parents, including how to deal with “picky” eating issues such as color, texture, food jags and other common food concerns.

What All Parents Can Learn from a Feeding Therapist

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This post is the second in a series from an interview with Dr. Ramasamy Manikam, PhD, a clinical psychologist and top expert on feeding disorders with over 20 years of practice. Dr. Manikam is the Director of the Center for Pediatric Feeding Disorders at St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children.

Compared to most of us parents, Dr. Manikam has experienced far more challenging situations at mealtime than what we face at our own tables. He is also a parent and grandparent. In this post, he shares his experience and perspective for all parents, including how to deal with “picky” eating issues such as color, texture, food jags and other common food concerns.

First, the most important message for all of us parents is that minor food issues — such as typical “picky” eating — are perfectly normal. The other important advice is we shouldn’t worry so much about food that we cause a larger problem.

“I would consider picky eating in healthy children a “normal” phase of development, usually during transition from bottle to solids and especially from puree to textured foods,” says Dr. Manikam. “Children tend to ‘try’ new foods and spit them out if the food does not meet with their interest (smell, taste, texture, color, etc.). Continued presentation without pressure, in small amounts, and in a variety of preparations can eliminate the problem.”

Another good thing to remember, Dr. Manikam advises, is not to get hung up on your child “having” to like any one food.

“No one food ‘has to be eaten’ unless for medical reasons,” he explains.  “If a child is healthy and is taking a variety of other foods there is no reason to “force” the child to eat a certain food (sometimes it is a power struggle that the parent wants to win for no good reason).”

Food should not be a fight, Dr. Manikam, advises, which is perhaps the best message parents could hope to hear. For those of us who deal with the challenges of our kids’ food issues daily, however, Dr. Manikam offers some good strategies for how to solve the issues and avoid that conflict.

Food Jags and the Mac-and-Cheese Strike

So, what about particular issues, such as a food jags where a child refuses to eat anything besides the Evil Trinity of fat-sugar-salt, i.e. mac-and-cheese, fast food or chicken nuggets?

“Choose foods with similar characteristics such as color, texture, taste, etc. to reduce the child’s resistance,” Dr. Manikam advises. “Introduce new foods in small amounts, mix the two foods together where possible, make the new foods interesting like making them into interesting shapes, arrangements etc.; model eating the food with the child; find out what about the new foods the child dislikes: e.g., color, taste, smell, texture, etc and manipulate these food characteristics.”

Color Issues and the All-White Diet

Quite often, kids refuse to eat any food of a certain color, green for example, after one negative exposure to a green food. It doesn’t matter if the new food is juicy grapes or sweet kiwi fruit, all things green equal broccoli. Other children may refuse any food that is not white, beige or brown, otherwise known as the “white diet.”

Many of the same approaches for food jags, above, are also useful for a color aversion, says Dr. Manikam.

“It takes many tries to get a child to feel comfortable with new foods. Frequent introduction of new foods because the child refuses a food is not a good idea. Continue to introduce the same food for 16 to 20 times, experimenting with a variety of food preparations.  Strong resistance might have an underlying problem and not merely a ‘behavior’ problem and should be medically evaluated.”

Texture Issues

Texture issues, whether it is a preference for crunch or for soft textures, can be confusing since they show up across all different flavors and colors of foods. For kids with texture issues, Dr. Manikam advises parents to try and evaluate the source of the issue in case it is not just picky eating.
“Check to rule out oral-dental problems.  Rule out sensory issues.  Texture fading (gradually increasing the texture of the food presented moving from puree to thickened puree) is a strategy that works well most of the time in the absence of oral-dental and sensory problems,” he says.

Restless Eaters 

Some of us have kids who can't seem to stay still long enough to eat.  These kids are often slumping in their chairs, getting up and down, or won't want to eat a full meal but then say they are hungry an hour later.

For these eaters, Dr. Manikam recommends a consistent schedule and being aware in case there are legitimate causes of a small appetite.

“Frequent meal-time changes can be difficult for the child,” he says. “Routine in other areas such as naps also helps mealtimes. Ensure that the child is ‘hungry’ before meals. Do not give snacks before meals. Feed developmentally appropriate portion sizes. Check to see if there is a medical reason for poor appetite. Children with poor appetite might need mini-meals (six to eight sessions a day) with gradual increase in portion size.  Children when ill or when recovering from illness cannot consume a full meal and could use mini meals until fully recovered.”

The Separate Meal Request

Feeding a family with all different tastes can be a struggle. It’s tempting to give into the request for separate foods — even just to get through one difficult evening. Once this becomes a habit, some children may insist on always being fixed a separate meal of foods they request. What started out as an understandable quick fix solution for a busy and stressed parent now adds to daily stress with the extra planning and preparation of this separate meal. How do you get the whole family eating the same meal again?

“If the child is healthy and well developed a ‘premack’ strategy can be used (i.e., to have the child consume a bite or two of the family food before presenting the preferred food and gradually increase the amount of the family food); or have the child leave the table and tell the child he/she can eat at the next meal (do not deprive the child of other food routines between mealtimes including liquids and snacks). If the child is not healthy or cannot afford to lose weight then food fading (gradual introduction of small amounts), food masking (mixing and hiding with other foods), and premack strategies can be used, ensuring that the child gets the required calories and nutrients,” says Dr. Manikam.

How Do We Tell if a Food is Disliked Because of Color, Texture, or Flavor?

Younger children cannot always verbalize their exact issue with a particular dish. It doesn’t help that one recipe for carrots can taste completely different than another recipe. How can parents of younger children “crack the code” on why their children won’t eat a particular food?

“One way to identify what the source of the particular food is to use the ‘elimination’ technique, similar to identifying a food that a child is allergic to,” says Dr. Manikam. “Change one characteristic of the food at a time for a few meals to see if it makes a difference.  Also, identify what the common elements are amongst the food the child is consuming and then use these elements to the refused foods.”

Stress Less. Enjoy More.

Overall, Dr. Manikam offers advises parents to remember, “Every eating ‘quirk’ is not a feeding disorder. If the child is healthy with normal growth trajectories the ‘feeding issues’ are overcome through ‘common-sense’ actions and time."

He also advises us to simply enjoy our food as we introduce small bites of new foods to our children. Reintroducing a rejected food item is a good tactic. That small bite might get eaten after a few tries — just don’t force those bites, he says, or force your child to clean his or her plate.

If you find yourself still tempted to worry, focus on being sure your child’s menu is varied and provides adequate nutrition for his/her age and developmental needs.

Many thanks to Dr. Manikam, Director of the Center for Pediatric Feeding Disorders at St. Mary’s Healthcare System for Children, for his insights shared here. Read the first post in the series on feeding disorders and when a parent should worry.

Caramelized Fennel and Root Vegetables with Lemon Ginger Sauce

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With Easter coming up, I wanted to create a nice side dish for dinner. Carrots are a natural fit for the menu! For spring, however, I wanted to do a lighter take on the flavors and add some fresh herbs and a touch of citrus for the end of citrus season. Fennel pairs wonderfully with the carrots, ginger, citrus and mint in this dish. New potatoes round out the root vegetables here and balance the sweetness.

One element that separates "easy" dishes from restaurant versions is that often restaurants prepare each component of the dish separately, then combine. That way, everything is cooked to perfection in the final dish. A steamer basket, or electric steamer can help a home cook get the same result easily. Steaming the harder vegetables first, then roasting gives them a crisp, caramelized surface, along with caramelizing the thin slices of fennel — without the risk of burning.

For the vegetables:
Two bunches, 1 lb., of carrots, peeled and ends cut off
1 lb. fingerling potatoes
2 bulbs fennel, sliced thin plus 1 tbs. of the fronds, chopped and set aside for garnish
Organic spray oil (canola or sunflower, high heat)
Salt and pepper to taste

For the sauce:
2 tbs. of butter
1 tbs. honey
1 small lemon plus zest
1 tbs. minced fresh ginger
1/4 tsp. coriander
Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:
2 tbs. fresh mint, cut in chiffonade
2 tbs. chopped Italian parsley

Steam the potatoes for about 30 minutes, or until fork tender. Place on greased baking sheet to cool. Steam carrots for 20 minutes. Slice the potatoes in halves, lengthwise. Add carrots to the baking sheet. Spray lightly with the organic spray oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Spray a second baking sheet. Add the thin slices of fennel. Spray lightly with oil. Salt and pepper to taste. Place both trays in the oven and set timer for 10 minutes. Put the carrots and potatoes on the top rack.

While the vegetables are roasting, place the lemon, ginger, butter and honey in a small sauce pan. Melt the butter, whisking to combine. Bring to a simmer and whisk occasionally until sauce is thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the zest, coriander and salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm on stove.

Check the fennel when the timer goes off. It may need to be turned so it caramelizes evenly. Check potatoes and carrots, turning the carrots and potatoes if needed, to brown all sides. Roast another 10 minutes until a lovely golden brown.

When everything is done roasting, place the carrots and potatoes on a platter. Place the fennel on top. Drizzle on the sauce and garnish with the reserved fennel fronds, fresh mint and parsley. This will pair beautifully with ham or a lamb roast.

Slipping

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I hadn't realized how different this summer job would be. That every single afternoon at the end of work, people would be going to happy hour. It seems kind of weird - some of these people are kind of mean to me at work, and then they want me to party with them? I almost think they want me to get drunk and make a fool of myself just so they can gossip about it the next day. It's why I decided to never have more than one drink. Even though I think two would be fine, three if I ate food.

It is probably really bad of me to be getting home at 8pm so only sitting down to dinner at 9pm right when my sisters are gearing up for finals. Maybe I should cut it down to half a drink to get home earlier.

Lately I am so tired from the power plays and always being on my best behavior that I keep just stripping out of my fancy clothes and tossing on a t-shirt to go to bed.  Screw the fancier stuff - I just want to be totally comfortable.

This is my new plan: tomorrow night I'll go out. After that though, I'm only going if someone kind of higher up invites me. The people going out every night are not the people I'm going to make friends with anyway. I'd rather hang out with my sisters anyway. They're slightly less fun, but a hell of a lot nicer.

Not adding

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I was able to get together with that girl from high school whose kid was taken away by CPS.  Yeah, she still couldn't explain herself coherently. Like what she said did not make sense to me. Cops knocked on her door, it took her a long time to answer, they gave her shit for her home being a wreck, and then refused to tell her where she could pick up her daughter.

It was hard to know what to say. So of course I asked the dumbest thing. "Well how messy was your house? Was it like, Hoarders-style or was it like, 2-hours to being beautiful?" She admitted it was closer to Hoarders. My aunt kind of lives that way. In the entire time we lived with her, I never saw her clean once. I so clearly remember me and Dani the first night scrubbing the bathroom floor with wet paper towels and them being black with filth. We wouldn't even shower until the second day, because we were so grossed out. It was probably inappropriate how long we showered together, but neither of us wanted to be submerged in the filth by ourselves.

So anyway to hear that police thought her house was so dirty that they mentioned it kind of grosses me out. Then I asked why she was sleeping in the middle of the day. She gave me some line about how she'd been up all night, then took her daughter to camp, then came home and drank two glasses of wine to be able to fall asleep. But why didn't she just arrange for somebody else to pick her up if she was going to take a nap?

The whole thing just seemed shady. To be completely honest I may have become prejudice against her when she talked about how dirty her place is because of how uncomfortable I was living with Aunt Elaine. But even without that things don't add up. I mean, so take a day and clean the fuck out of your house. Isn't anything worth getting your kid back? Like the second she was told her daughter was going to have to sleep at a stranger's house because her house was too filthy for them to let her back in, why wasn't she rushing around frantically cleaning?

I felt bad, because it was obvious she was really upset and like, wanted me to join her in agreeing the police were total pricks and CPS is just giving her a hard time, but like, I just wasn't quite feeling it. I mean let's be honest - you're underage and got so passed out drunk that it caused you to forget about your kid and then on top of all that, the police found out about it.

It's NOT an STD

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I am a terrible sister. Let's just get that out of the way. About once a month Josh whispers in my ear, "Don't you want to ...?" or "Don't you think you should ...?" in relation to one sister or another. He always thinks I should be doing more for them, with them than I do. I always say no. Josh has sister issues because of his sister who unofficially divorced her family years ago.

In the middle of the night I woke up to Josh nudging me with his knee. "Sammer. Sam is that your sister?" I was in the middle of a very busy dream.  There was massive construction, there were wheelchairs, hot construction guys, a race, and people from work. A lot to keep track of, and it was hard to understand Josh. Of course my sister's not a construction worker, what was he talking about? (By the way in my dream, one of the construction workers took his shoes off and had me stand on his feet while he walked me across a metal beam and he was wearing dress socks. Does that mean anything?)

"Sam! One of them's crying." I still couldn't leave my dream. None of the wheelchair people were crying; what was he talking about? They were totally calm. I was trying to be like them.

Then Josh was standing over the bed, pulling me into a sitting position. "Al is crying in the bathroom. She wants you." Now I was up. Knocking on the bathroom door, I stuck my head in. "Did you get your period?" Danielle was behind me trying to shove the door open more. Alex claimed it hurt horribly when she peed. "So just pee really fast?" I suggested. Al cried harder.

Danielle pulled at my arm. "She has an STD!" What? We stood there arguing about which STD's cause painful peeing while Alex cried in pain and yelled that she didn't have an STD. Josh wandered by. He claimed he looked it up, Alex had a UTI, and needed cranberry juice. The three of us stood there staring at each other. Somebody had to volunteer to go out and get cranberry juice. I was confident that if I crawled back into bed within the next two minutes I could get back to my dream and make sure the wheelchairers got across the beams to the other side in time.

Josh threw on a t-shirt and went. Much later, after we woke up at an appropriate time, he told me the only reason he went was because of being scared he'd get stuck having to stay at home talking her down through the bathroom door. No clue what happened to the wheelchair people.

I don't feel like it

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This or variations of it have now been said twice this week in front of me. The first time this girl got told to make new folders, labeled. It was probably like a hundred folders.

Her: Pssst, Sam!
Me: Yeah?
Her: I'll give you $20 to do the folder project for me.
Me: But I already have a project for today.
Her: Come on. I hate this shit.
Me: Sorry

She was supposed to do it Monday. Like, start and finish it Monday. How long does it take to type out a hundred labels, print them out, slap them on folders, and put the right papers (already sorted) in the folders? Like maybe two hours? I left at 6:15 tonight and it still wasn't done. This morning I heard someone ask if she'd finished it and she said she was finishing up.

Also, when Josh's mom took me fancy-suit shopping she told me not to curse at work, even if someone else did. The girl? She said fuck really loudly today. I was like in someone's office getting told what they needed me to do this morning and she was way down the hall and I heard it. There's this nice German lady who always wears bracelets that jingle who I overheard telling someone that girl took a huge stack of papers and just dumped them in a drawer instead of sorting and filing them. They take their filing REALLY seriously around here.

Today, I saw this administrative assistant look up, look around at everyone nearby, and say to one intern, "Hey, come help me?" and you know what his response was? "Nah, I don't feel like it." I cringed hearing it. Yes, I know - we're competing with each other in a way, and I should be happy when my competition throws themselves out of the running. But I am getting soft in my old age or something, because I just feel bad. Of course we don't feel like it. You think I want to walk around fetching people's lunch orders? You think I want to get deep paper cuts filing crap nobody will probably ever look at?

The point isn't to have fun at work. If it were, instead of walking down hallways we'd slip-n-slide down them. I want to ask these people. How do you have the balls to do that? When I worked at the diner there were so many times that either someone asked me to do something that was blatantly someone else's job or I saw that a table needed to be set or whatever so I'd do it. The two people who are so lax? They never do anything other than exactly what they're asked.

It makes me kind of angry. They took spots from other people. People who might have really needed this. Maybe they need it, but they're not appreciating it. Other people would. Other people do.

Being an alcoholic

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A high school friend sent me a link to another friend's Twitter page to see something we were talking about. I noticed in another spot she'd written something like, "If I don't drink for more than three days I start getting skitchy." If you can't go a certain number of days without feeling it physically, then you're an alcoholic. We talked with her about it, and she was very ... unconcerned about herself. There's all this stuff about alcoholism and genetics and stuff but she really made it sound like a total choice. But who chooses to be an alcoholic? Her boyfriend drinks even more than she does, and used to be a hardcore drug user. She used to do as much weed as me. I have a very take it or leave it attitude about it. If it's around, maybe I'll have some. I never seek it out, don't grow my own. Haven't bought since 10th grade. Now she won't even leave the house without lighting up first. 

What is wrong with everybody? I'm not saying everyone should be going to Yale or anything, but having your kid taken away? I mean like that's really totally failing at parenting. Publicly saying you're an alcoholic and then when friends express concern claiming it's better than your mom who was a waitress who sold drugs on the side? Better than that is not good enough. Pointing out you're better than someone else should not be your standard.

If everybody acts like they don't care about their lives hurtling in a downward spiral then why should I? So I won't. Don't call me to help find out if you can mail your daughter shit at her new foster home. Don't ask me to call and wake you in case your alarm didn't shake you out of your drunken stupor. I have two sisters to wake up, that's enough.

I just don't understand. Why is everyone I know a fuckup?

Peach Gazpacho and Ginger-Peach Sorbet

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Once a year I completely eschew any pretense of grace and manners and lean over the kitchen sink to gorge on fresh peaches. "Schluuuuuuuuuuuuurp!" I inhale, yet the juice still runs down my hands and chin as the perfectly sweet flesh gives up every last bit of peachy nectar.

Most fruits, with the exception of pears and very few others, do not ripen after picking. They get softer, yes, from a rather unglamorous process known as rotting. But the flavor of that fruit ceases to develop the moment it is plucked from the vine or tree. For delicate fruits such as peaches, this plucking occurs long before the flavor develops, mainly so the peach can survive being shipped a thousand miles to your grocery shelf where it softens by rotting. This explains why grocery store peaches taste a bit like mushy, peach-scented cardboard.

Unless you shop at the farmers market and peaches happen to grow in your climate. Then, you will be lucky enough to know the complex, floral sweetness that only a ripe peach can deliver. Just try not to end up hunched over the sink, greedily devouring every last sticky slurp of it.

The pleasure is fleeting with just a few short weeks of peach harvesting locally. So is the "ripe" state of peaches, which presents a few issues for a person like myself who gets a little too crazy at the farmers market and buys peaches several quarts at a time.

It's time to wipe the peach juice off my chin, wash up, and get busy in the kitchen.



Peach Gazpacho
8 peaches, peeled and stone removed
2 medium or 1 large cucumber
1 habenero pepper
2 tbs. balsamic vinegar (or use lemon juice if you want to make this a "raw" recipe)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 radishes
1/4 cup mint leaves

Slice off the green peel and a bit of the white flesh all the way around the cucumber. Dice this green part.  Halve the remaining cucumber and scoop out the seeds. Place the cucumber and peaches in a blender. Wearing gloves, seed and stem the habenero. Start with just a quarter of it, adding that to the blender with the salt and balsamic vinegar.

Blend until a smooth puree. Taste for the heat level. It should be just a nice kiss of heat. Add just a bit of pepper at a time and blend until its just right. Chill at least four hours before serving. Odd, but sometimes a pepper just isn't as hot as it should be. Best to taste and adjust. The heat will intensify a tiny bit when the soup chills.

Dice the radishes and add to the diced green cucumber. Stack the mint leaves, roll and chiffonade into nice thin slivers. Toss with the cucumber mixture. Chill this separately from the soup.

Before serving, add a spoonful of the cucumber mixture to each serving of peach gazpacho. Serves 4.



Ginger Peach Sorbet
2 lbs. fresh peaches, peeled
1/2 cup honey
1/8 tsp. ground white cardamom
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. candied ginger
1/2 lemon, juice only

Add all ingredients to the blender and puree until smooth. Chill for 8 hours, then blend in an ice cream maker. Freeze the sorbet for a couple more hours before serving.

Pantry Challenge Day Six: Pretzel-scotch cookie recipe, pizza dough recipe, pizza sauce recipe, Belgian waffle recipe

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My poor refrigerator is crying out for dairy, vegan dairy and produce. There's enough lettuce left for a salad, with a few sad little radishes and tiny piece of green pepper. All the oranges, bananas and apples are gone. There are a few lonely potatoes and a few onions. Little bit of butter, some vegan cream cheese, a little coconut milk. 
Woke up early, I think I'm getting a cold or sinus infection again because I couldn't breathe. Went back to bed once my meds started working. Woke up and had leftover Belgian waffles and a cup of coffee for breakfast.

Pretzel-scotch chocolate chip cookies

Pizza cravings got the better of all of us, so we made pizza for lunch. Made pizza dough, pizza sauce and spiced some ground pork to taste like Italian sausage. Used up the rest of the shredded mozzarella and a few sprinkles of grated Parmesan. Delicious! Two slices left for someone's lunch tomorrow.
Dinner? Leftovers. Pizza, beef vegetable soup and baked rigatoni to finish up. Still have a lot of soup, which I'll probably have with a tuna sandwich for lunch tomorrow. 
For dessert we had some more of the delicious pretzel-scotch chocolate chip cookies I made yesterday
Thank goodness tomorrow is grocery shopping day. Once I have produce, dairy and vegan dairy in the house again I'll breathe a sigh of relief.
The cupboards and freezer are starting to look a little bare, too. Amazing how much we use when we're "forced" to use it!
How are you doing on your pantry challenge? Till next time, I remain Frugally yours!
Rachael Monaco

Sexy scrumptious Valentine's Day gifts: Chocolate covered strawberry recipe

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Valentine's Day is quickly approaching, and again this year I find that buying my sweetheart gifts can be expensive. He's come to enjoy my homemade offerings, and he'll get these sexy, scrumptious chocolate covered strawberries this year.






I plan to roll some in finely chopped almonds and shredded coconut, which will give the taste of his favorite Almond Joy candy bar.

Till next time, I remain Frugally Yours!
Rachael Monaco

Thoughts of Summer: Crock pot cooking to save you money

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Every summer since I began cooking at the age of 8 I've noticed something. It's too hot to cook! Even grilling or barbecuing makes me feel overheated. Every summer I vow that we will not bust our budget on take out food, and every summer by the hottest and most humid of days in mid-August I'm begging my hubby to order out or take me to an air conditioned restaurant.
With summer just about 2 months away, I've begun pulling out the recipes I think can get us through another long, hot, humid summer in Western New York. Yeah, Buffalo gets pretty hot, humid and sticky from about mid-July to mid-August.
This summer, armed once again with my trusty slow cookers and George Foreman grill, I vow to keep the dining out budget under control. Oh, and several Restaurant.com gift certificates purchased at rock bottom prices and squirreled away for emergencies!

Creole chicken in the crock pot or slow cooker - buy chicken pieces on sale, stock up the freezer. Purchase local produce or use what you have in your garden for an extra touch of frugality.

More recipes to come! Check back soon and often!

Chicken recipes: It's what's for dinner!

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Chicken has been on sale a lot and I've got a freezer full of all kinds. I thought I'd share some of my chicken recipes with you.
Sticky chicken: this is awesome, and I always have to pull out the big roasting pan and make three whole chickens because everyone loves sticky chicken and I want leftovers. The spice mixture you rub on this is wonderful and you baste the chicken throughout the cooking time which is what makes the skin "sticky".

Chili-maple glazed chicken: this is one of many "dump chicken" recipes that I love! They are easy, and you can prepare them ahead of time and freeze them, then defrost and "dump" into a baking dish and bake in the oven or "dump" in the crock pot or slow cooker and let it cook while you're out running errands or at work.

Grilled chili lime chicken kebabs: perfect for summer grilling! No grill? That's okay, you can make these in the oven and turn the broiler on for the last few minutes to make sure they get a nice brown on them. You can also make these on a grill pan or on the GF grill.

Sesame hoisin chicken wings: these wings are so good! They're a little bit sweet, a little bit salty, sticky but crispy. Yummy! Perfect any time of the year. They make a wonderful appetizer for an outdoor summer party, as well as the Super Bowl.


Ground chicken spanakopita meatballs: the first time I made them, huge hit! They've asked for them twice since. I serve with Greek salad, homemade pita bread and homemade tzatziki, which is a delicious dip/spread made with yogurt, cucumbers and garlic.





If the links don't work, you can copy and paste them directly:
Sticky chicken: www.examiner.com/article/oven-roasted-sticky-chicken-recipe
Chili-maple glazed chicken: www.examiner.com/article/chili-maple-glazed-dump-chicken-recipe-perfect-for-memorial-day-or-everyday
Grilled chili lime chicken kebabs: www.examiner.com/article/chili-maple-glazed-dump-chicken-recipe-perfect-for-memorial-day-or-everyday
Sesame hoisin chicken wings: www.examiner.com/article/serve-up-a-chicken-wing-super-bowl-buffet-sesame-hoisin-chicken-wing-recipe

Ground chicken spanakopita meatballs: www.examiner.com/article/ground-chicken-recipe-chicken-spanakopita-meatballs-with-tzatziki-and-pita 
Bonus recipes:

• homemade tzatziki: www.examiner.com/article/tzatziki-recipe-greek-cucumber-yogurt-dip
• homemade pita: www.examiner.com/article/pita-bread-recipe
• Greek salad: www.examiner.com/article/how-to-make-fresh-salad-dressings-recipes-to-save-you-money-2012

Till next time, keep on keeping on and fight the frugal fight!

Vintage Cookbook Hoedown: The Quick Cookbook (1961) by Lois S. Kellogg

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This article first appeared in February 2010.
A few months ago, I fell into possession of The Quick Cook Book by Lois S. Kellogg, a 1961 paperback filled with hundreds of convenient and occasionally jaw-dropping recipes.


There are Mayonnaise Mounds. There are Corned Beef Cobblers. There's even Prune Whip. And I'm pretty sure we can trace America's obesity problems directly to the Canned Chicken section.

To be fair to Lois, she seems to specialize in baking. The cake and cookie recipes look tasty and are mostly made from scratch. Some aren't, but ... we'll get to that later.

First, let's pretend we're hosting a party on Mad Men. And what better way to kick off a soiree than Cholives?



Of course, if you're not fond of olive and cheddar finger foods, deep-fried whole chicken sandwiches make an excellent light appetizer.



The meal really begins with soup. Tomatoes and pineapples are delicious, inexpensive, and come in cans. They should be lovely together.



Side dishes are vital to the success of any meal. I like to make a lot of them, since they're less expensive than meat.



I'd love to serve macaroni and cheese, but I find the garish yellow hue too distressing. How do I cope?



Of course, the most distressing part of hosting a party is that I never know what to serve for the main course. Jellied Meat Loaf? Corned Beef Corn Ring? Ham Wheel Pie? Corned Beef Cobbler? So many options, and all on the same page...



I know! We'll do breakfast for dinner! With a twist!



It's important to end the meal with a wholesome, appealing dessert. Since I believe halitosis is a myth, (like morally upright socialists), this should fit the bill!



You know, Onion Ice Cream is definitely going on the menu, but Bob really prefers treats that keep him regular. Maybe this would please him?



As for my son ... be careful, Danny. This peach pie is "Different" from all the other peach pies. You're such a good student. Don't let it ruin your future.



And to cap it all off, coffee. But drinking it just seems so ... pedestrian. Isn't there a better way to get that caffeine fix?


Mmm ... delicious. I bet the Jell-O company will pay me at least one hundred dollars for this recipe.

Cheers, everyone!

~~~
If you like this article, you might also like:

• 11 Things Dwight K. Schrute Taught Me About Food and Frugality
• The Argument for Spending More on Food
• The Dos and Don'ts of Buying a Cookbook 

(All photos from The Quick Cook Book by Lois S. Kellogg)

Dijon-Roasted Potatoes PLUS Sweet Potato and Chickpea Puree: Two Recipes for the Price of One

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This was originally published in January 2010.
When it comes to white starches like pasta, rice, bread, and potatoes, I’m a bit like Gollum from Lord of the Rings. I’ll hoard it, possibly kill for it, and occasionally beat up Elijah Wood just to be in its vicinity. Somewhere, I like to think there exists a 60-minute VHS tape of me scurrying away from the buffet table at a family event. I’m cradling plates of spaghetti to my bosom, angrily hissing “The pasta is THE PRECIOUS!” over and over until I’m disowned.

But … what was I talking about? Oh yeah – starches. I like ‘em. Maybe too much. Subsequently, I’m attempting to A) cut back, and B) be more creative with what I do make. I have a feeling this will involve a lot of bizarre grains and unorthodox purees, but this is okay. After all, what is Brooklyn, if not home for the bizarre and unorthodox? (He agrees.)

Today, both recipes - Dijon-Roasted Potatoes and Sweet Potato and Chickpea Puree – are excellent departures from the norm. The first dish, adapted from Weight Watchers, is a sophisticated alternative to plain ol’ oven fries and baked spuds. The recipe asks you to coat small red potatoes in a tangy, savory marinade, and then roast them to tender-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside perfection. The result goes beautifully with frittatas or lean meats, and can be served with barbecue sauce or ketchup. Gollum would approve.

The second recipe comes from O Magazine, which I adore, despite being a childless, apartment-dwelling cynic. (Harrumph!) Many people accuse Oprah of many terrible things (like thoughtful discussion and creative empowerment), but the woman can produce a dang magazine. It’s nice to read a lady-oriented publication that doesn’t begin with the assumption we’re morons.

Tangent aside, the Sweet Potato and Chickpea Puree is sweet and savory, and another solid pairing for lean meat and produce. A little tahini could even turn it into more of a hummus-esque concoction, so go nuts with the experimentation.

(To know: the original recipe called for 1/2 cup of olive oil, which seemed Smeagol-level insane. So, using a trick from a pesto recipe, I subbed out half the olive oil for fat-free chicken broth. For comparison, I made the full-fat version as well. The Husband-Elect and I both agreed: the chicken broth adaptation was far superior. Sweet.)

That said, how’s everyone doing with resolutions so far? Any fun ideas for white starch substitutions? I’d love to hear, and the comment section is THE PRECIOUS. Er … I mean “open.”

~~~
If you like these recipes, you might also like:

• Chili-Spiced Potatoes
• Chorizo and Potato Frittata
• Lemony Hummus

~~~

Dijon-Roasted Potatoes
Serves 3 or 4
Adapted from Weight Watchers.


2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (like Grey Poupon)
1 teaspoon olive oil
3/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed in your hands
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1-1/2 pounds small (3-inch) red potatoes, cut into eighths

1) Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with tin foil and spray with cooking spray.

2) In a large bowl, whisk mustard, olive oil, paprika, thyme, salt, and pepper together. Add potatoes and stir until well-coated. Spread across baking sheet in a single layer. Roast 15 minutes. Remove and stir. Drop oven heat to 350°F. Roast for 20-25 more minutes, or until potatoes are cooked through. Serve.

NOTE: The Dijon is pretty subtle here. You can double the coating if you want a more assertive flavor.
~~~

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Puree
Serves 6-8 (makes around 2 cups).
Adapted from Oprah Magazine.


1 medium sweet potato (about 14 ounces), scrubbed
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 small clove garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup fat-free chicken broth
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Hot sauce (optional)

1) Preheat oven to 425°F.

2) Prick sweet potato all over with a fork. Roast about 45 to 50 minutes, or until potato can be easily run through with a knife. Set aside to cool. Once cool enough to handle, remove flesh from skin. (It should slip right out.)

3) In a food processor, combine chickpeas, garlic, salt, sweet potato, and a little chicken broth. Get it going, and slowly add olive oil as it’s running. When olive oil runs out, slowly add the rest of the chicken broth.

4) Pour into a bowl. Salt and pepper to taste, and add a little hot sauce if you’re in the mood.

According to O Magazine: “Store any leftovers in the refrigerator, and when ready to serve again, bring puree to room temperature and thin with extra olive oil."

~~~

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber and Price for Potatoes
141 calories, 1.4 g fat, 3.1 g fiber, $0.71

Approximate Calories, Fat, Fiber and Price for Puree
221 calories, 9.9 g fat, 5.1 g fiber, $0.33

Calculations (Potatoes)
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard (like Grey Poupon): 30 calories, 0 g fat, 0 g fiber, $0.27
1 teaspoon olive oil: 39 calories, 4.5 g fat, 0 g fiber, $0.12
3/4 teaspoon sweet paprika: 4 calories, 0.2 g fat, 0.6 g fiber, $0.03
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed in your hands: 1 calorie, 0 g fat, 0.1 g fiber, $0.03
1/2 teaspoon table salt: negligible calories, fat, and fiber, $0.01
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper: negligible calories, fat, and fiber, $0.01
1-1/2 pounds small (3-inch) red potatoes: 490 calories, 0.7 g fat, 11.6 g fiber, $2.35
TOTAL: 564 calories, 5.4 g fat, 12.3 g fiber, $2.82
PER SERVING (TOTAL/4): 141 calories, 1.4 g fat, 3.1 g fiber, $0.71

Calculations (Puree)
1 medium sweet potato (about 14 ounces): 341 calories, 0.4 g fat, 11.9 g fiber, $0.69
1 can (15 ounces) chickpeas, drained: 500 calories, 4.6 g fat, 18.5 g fiber, $0.66
1 small clove garlic: 4 calories, 0 g fat, 0.1 g fiber, $0.05
1 teaspoon salt: negligible calories, fat, and fiber, $0.01
1/4 cup fat-free chicken broth: 4 calories, 0.3 g fat, 0 g fiber, $0.10
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil: 477 calories, 54 g fat, 0 g fiber, $0.46
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper: negligible calories, fat, and fiber, $0.03
TOTAL: 1326 calories, 59.3 g fat, 30.5 g fiber, $2.00
PER SERVING (TOTAL/6): 221 calories, 9.9 g fat, 5.1 g fiber, $0.33

Why Weight Maintenance is Harder Than Weight Loss, and How to Help it Along

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This was originally published in July 2009.
An estimated 80% to 95% of people who lose a significant amount of weight will gain it back. It sounds high, yes, but I believe it. This is because I’m slowly becoming one of those people.

Full disclosure: about four years ago, I dropped 30 pounds to get to a (too) low weight of 132. Between then and now, my scale readout has slowly crept up to about 153 pounds.

On one hand, I think I would have gained the weight back much faster had it not been for this blog. Undoubtedly, it’s helped my eating habits change for the better. I drink water, cook at home, scarf lots of produce, and avoid processed foods like it’s my job. My heart, lungs, and various other organs are in excellent shape, and my sister gets thoroughly annoyed that we can’t eat a meal without me adding some kind of crazy vinegar or seasoning. So there’s that.

On the other hand … I’ve put on 20 pounds in four years. I’m not in crisis mode (yet), but what the heck?

I know my faults. There are ongoing issues with portion control and dining out, and my reliance on cheese has grown from an occasional treat to an everyday occurrence. I just didn’t expect those factors to make this much of an impact on the circumference of my backside.

But, as the opening statistic demonstrates, I’m far from alone. Maintaining a weight loss is difficult for everyone. In fact, I would say it’s even harder than losing the weight in the first place. Why? Well, once you’ve dropped the pounds – once you’re no longer getting measurable results on the scale, and weight loss morphs from a happy goal to a ho-hum product of the past – things change. Over time, enthusiasm fades, behaviors slack, and long-ignored temptations are indulged with abandon.

In other words, eating salad for 40 days is easy. Eating salad for 40 years is hard.

Enter the National Weight Control Registry. Comprised of PhDs, MDs, and other experts in the health and obesity field, it monitors the habits of thousands of people who have lost at least 30 pounds, and have kept it off for a minimum of one year. (The average is 66 pounds over 5-1/2 years.) Workers conduct studies, publish journal articles, and are widely considered The Authority on diet and weight maintenance. And while they don’t claim to have concrete guidelines that will keep the pounds permanently off for everyone, they have discovered a few actions common among successful maintainers. (Note that these findings imply correlation, and not necessarily causation.)

In order of popularity, they are:

1) Exercise, on average, about one hour per day.
90% of successful maintainers do this.
Far and away the most common factor for weight maintenance among respondents, exercise prevents you from binging, draws you away from the television set, and … y’know, does all the good things it’s supposed to. Movement must be for life, not as part of a temporary diet plan.

2) Eat breakfast every day.
78% of successful maintainers do this.
The researchers gave three reasons for this: “First, eating breakfast may reduce the hunger seen later in the day that may in turn lead to overeating…Second, breakfast eaters may choose less energy-dense foods during the remainder of the day. Finally, nutrients consumed at breakfast may leave the subject with a better ability to perform physical activity.” Of the 2959 successful maintainers in a 2002 NWCR study, only 4% never ate breakfast.

3) Weigh yourself at least once a week.
75% of successful maintainers do this.
The NWCR calls this “consistent self-monitoring,” and claims it allows maintainers to, “catch weight gains before they escalate and make behavior changes to prevent additional weight gain.” I have not weighed myself in over a year. This explains a lot.

4) Watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.
62% of successful maintainers do this.
In a 2003 study, the American Heart Association found a strong correlation between the amount of TV one watches, the amount of fast food ingested, and the propensity for obesity. Turning the boob tube off can help sidestep this, as it allows for more activity and less mindless grazing. (Personally, I believe this point is incredibly important for kids, since they develop habits in childhood that they’ll have for the rest of their lives. Subsequently, I’d lump video games and computer time in the same category.)

The good news is, the longer you maintain your weight, the more likely you are to keep it up in the future. So, adopting these behaviors can only help. I would also suggest that beginning the whole process with long-term intentions (“This is not a diet. This is a lifestyle change.”) makes all the difference in the world.

As for me, I have to drop some pounds again. Then, I need to concentrate on maintaining it for the rest of my life. It's gonna be tough, but I feel a responsibility to readers, the Husband-Elect, our future kids, and myself to do so. Fingers crossed, these strategies will help.

Readers, how about you? What’s been your experience with maintaining weight loss?

(Photos courtesy of the University of Maryland and Documenting Success.)

The 10 Cheapest, Healthiest Foods Money Can Buy

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This originally ran in May 2010.
Whether you’re broke and waiting for the next paycheck, or simply trying to cut back on your grocery bill, it’s vital to choose foods that give you the healthiest bang for your hard-earned buck.

These ten foods do just that. They’re nutritional powerhouses for pennies on the dollar. Many could be considered superfoods, and have long been staples of frugal households. I included almost all of them (sorry, lentils) for CHG's $25 Challenge, and you’ll see that Hillbilly Housewife uses quite a few in her famous $45 Emergency Menu, as well.

To compile the final list, there were three main criteria. Each food is:

• Versatile. It can be eaten on it own or used as an ingredient in other dishes.
• Inexpensive. A serving will cost a few dimes or nickels.
• Nutritious. It packs high percentages of vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, and/or calories. (Note: To be totally honest, some important, but fairly obscure minerals are included here. Manganese? I thought it was a capital in Southeast Asia. It is not, and oatmeal has 147% of the USDA-recommended daily allowance.)

Bonus: since most of the list is comprised of produce, grains, and legumes, it’s fairly environmentally and ethically sound, as well.

Of course, your opinion on some of these foods (particularly the first) might differ, and I’d love to hear what you would have included instead. But first, before we get started, two quick notes:

• All prices are the lowest available from Peapod (Stop & Shop) on 4/6/10.
• All nutrition data comes from, uh, Nutrition Data and is approximate. Serving sizes are noted.

Obligatory disclaimer: I’m not a nutritionist, and these choices reflect my own opinion, so take ‘em with a grain of salt. (Or don’t, because, you know - not a nutritionist.)


BANANAS
Are there better-rounded fruits? Absolutely. Berries will single-handedly protect you from every known disease and fight off communism. But they are inordinately pricey little buggers (especially out of season), and for the money, don’t compare to a good ol’ Cavendish banana. Lesson: Always listen to the monkeys.

Serving size: One large (5oz) banana.
Peapod/Stop & Shop cost: $0.33 each
Good source of: Fiber (14% of a 2000-calorie diet), Vitamin C (20%), Vitamin B6 (25%), Potassium (14%), Manganese (18%)
Suggested recipe: Three-Ingredient Banana, Honey, and Peanut Butter Ice Cream


BEANS
We’ve discussed beans ad nauseum here on CHG, and for good reason: there are fewer cheaper sources of protein and fiber found on Earth. (Maybe Mars?) Their mutability means you can pack them into just about any recipe, and with a range of flavors and sizes, everyone’s palate will be equally pleased. Plus: hilarious farting.

Serving size: Half a cup of cooked black beans.
Peapod/Stop & Shop cost, canned: $0.21 per serving ($0.75/15oz can)
Peapod/Stop & Shop cost, dried: $0.15 per serving ($1.50/1lb bag)
Good source of: Fiber (30% of a 2000-calorie diet), Iron (10%), Protein (15%), Thiamin (14%), Folate (32%), Magnesium (15%), Phosphorus (12%), Manganese (19%)
Suggested recipe: Black Bean Soup with a Fried Egg on Top


CANNED TOMATOES
Canned tomatoes are here not as a snack or a stand-alone food, but an ingredient. Simply, they’re the basis for innumerable recipes across countless cuisines; sauces, soups, stews, and chilis wouldn’t exist was it not for the humble tomato. And yeah, if you’re the type to dig in a can of Progresso with a spoon, that’s okay too.

Serving size: One cup canned whole peeled tomatoes
Peapod/Stop & Shop cost: $0.48 per serving ($1.67/28oz can)
Good source of: Fiber (10% of a 2000-calorie diet), Vitamin C (37%), Iron (13%), Vitamin B6 (13%), Potassium (13%), Sodium (14%)
Suggested recipe: Tomato and Bread Soup


CARROTS
Bugs Bunny was on to something. But while carrots can be eaten raw to great merriment, they’re also excellent roasted, braised, in soups, and mixed with other foods. Hint: for snacking purposes, skip the bags of baby carrots ($1.50), buy a pound of full growns ($0.66), and chop ‘em up yourself. You save $0.84 every time.

Serving size: One cup raw carrot sticks.
Peapod/Stop & Shop cost: $0.13 per serving ($0.50/lb)
Good source of: Fiber (14% of a USDA 2000-calorie diet), Vitamin A (408%), Vitamin C (12%), Vitamin K (20%), Potassium (11%)
Suggested recipe: Honey-glazed Roasted Carrots


FROZEN SPINACH
Apparently, Popeye was on to something, too. (What is it with these cartoon characters?) Spinach is just about the healthiest food you can buy, and it’s easy to sneak little bits into a plethora of different dishes. Here, I’m going for frozen spinach over fresh for two reasons. First, it’s generally cheaper, and you can find better sales. Second, it takes up less space. For those of us with limited refrigerator storage, that’s important.

Serving size: Five ounces unprepared frozen spinach.
Peapod/Stop & Shop cost: $0.50 per serving ($1.00/10oz bag)
Good source of: Fiber (16% of a 2000-calorie diet), Vitamin A (333%), Vitamin C (13%), Calcium (18%), Iron (15%), Protein (10-11%), Vitamin K (660%), Vitamin E (20%), Riboflavin (18%), Vitamin B6 (12%), Folate (51%), Magnesium (26%),. Manganese (50%), Copper (10%), Potassium (14%), Selenium (112%)
Suggested recipe: Italian White Bean and Spinach Soup


LENTILS
Full disclosure: I knew lentils were good for you, but didn’t have any idea HOW good until researching this piece. And $0.11 per serving? My god. No wonder they’re eaten for breakfast, lunch, and dinner around the world.

Serving size: One-quarter cup of lentils, unprepared.
Peapod/Stop & Shop cost: $0.11 per serving ($0.79/1lb bag)
Good source of: Fiber (58% of a 2000-calorie diet), Iron (20%), Protein (25%), Thiamin (28%), Vitamin B6 (13%), Folate (57%), Pantothenic Acid (10%), Magnesium (14%), Phosphorus (22%), Potassium (13%), Zinc (15%), Copper (12%), Manganese (32%)
Suggested recipe: Red Lentil Soup with Lemon


OATMEAL
Here’s a riddle: what comes in a can, goes in a muffin, or can be boiled with raisins? (If you said “bunnies,” you are sick in the head.) It’s oatmeal, folks! High in fiber and all kinds of exciting minerals, it’s appropriate for every meal. Combine it with sweeter flavors for breakfast, or soy sauce and scallions for a strangely delicious lunch.

Serving size: Half a cup unprepared old-fashioned rolled oats:
Peapod/Stop & Shop cost: $0.12 per serving ($3.69/42oz canister)
Good source of: Fiber (16% of a 2000-calorie diet), Protein (10%), Thiamin (12%), Iron (10%), Magnesium (14%), Phosphorus (11%), Zinc (10%), Manganese (73%), Selenium (16%)
Suggested recipe: Banana Oatmeal Muffins


PEANUT BUTTER
Throughout childhood, peanut butter was as universal as Sesame Street and possibly even my mother. Even today, spooning some out of the jar is a good time, and adding a dollop into stew or oatmeal positively feels like a treat. And though PB is high in fat, it’s a good kind.

Serving size: Two tablespoons chunky peanut butter.
Peapod/Stop & Shop cost: $0.15 per serving ($2.39/18oz jar)
Good source of: Calories (9% of a 2000 calorie diet), fat (25%), fiber (10%), protein (15%, Niacin (22%), vitamin E (10%), Manganese (29%), phosphorus (10%), Magnesium (13%)
Suggested recipe: Indonesian Bean Stew


PEAS
Yes, peas.

Serving size: Half a cup frozen peas, unprepared
Peapod/Stop & Shop cost: $0.23 per serving ($3.00/2lb bag)
Good source of: Fiber (12% of a 2000-calorie diet), Vitamin A (22%), Vitamin C (20%), Vitamin K (23%), Thiamin (11%), Manganese (11%)
Suggested recipe: Easy Pea Soup


SWEET POTATOES
Rounding out the list, it’s the tastiest of all natural starches: the sweet potato (or yam, if you’re feeling semantic). Sweet potatoes have all the benefits and cooking versatility of regular potatoes, plus lots of fiber, a metric ton of Vitamin A, and an alluring orange color. Enter their world, and you will never want to leave.

Serving size: One cup cubed (about 4.75 oz).
Peapod/Stop & Shop cost: $0.50 per potato
Good Source of: Fiber (16% of 2000-calorie diet), Vitamin A (377%), Vitamin B6 (14%), Potassium (13%), Copper (10%), Manganese (17%)
Suggested recipe: Sweet Potato and Chickpea Puree


Readers, what do you think of the list? What would you add? What would you leave off? The comment section is ready and waiting.

(Photos courtesy of Human 2.0, Real Simple, Zeer, Converting Magazine, and How Stuff Works.)

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